The Gemini North Telescope, located atop Maunakea in Hawaii, has detected two entangled galaxies that will eventually merge millions of years from now, a similar eventual fate for our Milky Way.
The Gemini North telescope captured a new image of two galaxies NGC 4568 and NGC 4567 in a cosmic dance with one another. They will eventually collide and merge into one galaxy in about 500 million years! pic.twitter.com/QRQ1HMQXHh
— Jasmine 🌌🔭 (@astro_jaz) August 10, 2022
Scientists at the observatory, which includes 8-meter telescopes in the US state of Hawaii, were able to reach an amazing picture of the collision of the two huge spiral galaxies that are located in the constellation Virgo or “Virgo” in the zodiac, more than 60 million light-years from Earth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9XDWew6Q0c
And the early stages of the great merger appeared in the form of a beautiful cosmic butterfly, which dazzled scientists in the collision caused by gravity that brought the two galaxies together.
NGC 4568 appeared to be in an early state of an astonishing merger with NGC 4567, with which it is related in a mutual gravitational field.
As the two galaxies collided, the slow merger took place, noting that the arm-like patterns in the image changed, to the point where the two galaxies lost their spiral structures, NOIRLab Laboratory, which operates the Gemini North Observatory in Hawaii, said in a statement.
Gravitational forces cause intense eruptions, and the two galaxies will eventually form a new elliptical galaxy after about 500 million years.
The image, taken by Gemini North, has provided scientists with new insight into what will happen when the Milky Way, 5 billion years later, collides with its nearest neighbor.
Read also: The James Webb Telescope dazzles the world once again with the first image of the “Cartwheel” galaxy
Scientists believe that within 500 million years, the two cosmic systems will complete their merging to form a single elliptical galaxy.
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